UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine-UCLA Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

UCLA's Child Neurology Residency is a five-year categorical program (2 years pediatrics + 3 years child neurology) embedded within a major academic tertiary/quaternary medical center, with a 40+ year history and nearly 40 graduates. Its identity centers on subspecialty depth in pediatric epilepsy, with a comprehensive multidisciplinary Epilepsy Center offering surgical evaluation, advanced neuroimaging (PET/MRI fusion, fMRI), Wada testing, and diet therapy, alongside named clinical programs in TBI/sports concussion, tuberous sclerosis complex, and infantile spasms. The curriculum is explicitly individualized to trainee interest, and the program pairs clinical training with structured exposure to basic science, translational, and clinical research, positioning research competence as a core competency rather than an elective add-on. The faculty is described as a close-knit group invested in flexible, mentorship-driven training, suggesting the program values trainees who can identify a subspecialty niche early and engage with its named disease-specific programs.